[DeTomaso] Ford 4.6 modular power in a Pantera

[Kjetil Finne]

MikeLDrew at aol.com wrote:

I do know that Richard Barkley loves his 4.6, and I think Kjetil Finne 
loves his turbocharged 4.6.


I was putting 10 000km on my new Cobra engine this summer, and the only 
problems I had was some overheating , and fanbelt issues. (Which off 
course would seem serious enough but it seems like the combination off a 
weak waterpump in the 4,6, long waterlines, an external thermostat 
placed in the front off the car, and possibly high resistance in the 
fluidyne radiator caused low coolant circulation).
An high flow pump from Summit + an inline electrical pump solved this. 
What is strange is that I have not heard about anyone else that have had 
the same problems with a 4,6 in the Pantera.

My engine has standard compression, and it's supercharged with two small 
turbo's. It has about the same torque as a standard 4,6 at very low 
revs, while there is full boost/max torque already at 3000 rpm.
As for the driving experience, I really like the performance off my new 
engine. It revs to 8000 rpms, and it sounds like it could do it all day 
long. The same power, torque, etc could easily be had from a Cleveland, 
but I doubt that you could obtain the same mileage, drive ability, and 
life length from a 500 hp Cleveland in any form. But of course I could 
be wrong, time will show?
My complete engine (with turbo's, intercooler, etc) weighs about the 
same as an alu intake/waterpump cleveland with headers.
As for the monstrous size. What's the point off not filling the engine 
bay to the max? To me it looks good, and it gets lots off positive 
attention. Again others would have different opinions. Ask me again in a 
couple off years, and you might get a different view.

BTW: I originally had the Corvette Z06  (ls7) engine on the top off my 
wish list, but I have recently heard about some problems with that engine?

Kjetil
Pantera 1613